Those wheels are very sharp. 1977AMC Matador Wagon-$1700.0bo - auto parts - by owner - vehicle... (craigslist.org)
I just seen this car last week! I was in Quakertown. Man, it was roachy, but he had some other neat stuff on his property. Lots of those late 40s and early 50s bulletproof Mopars. It's a shame, cuz it looks like it was a nice wagon at one time.
Yikes. That Matador needs some work. Hopefully someone has the heart (and the wallet) to save it, but I've got a feeling this one's going to wind up at the scrapyard as a taco - i.e. a smashed up derby car. I've really come to love those late 40s and early 50s Mopars. Not to get too off-topic, but they really are bulletproof. The flathead sixes in most of those cars were legendary for reliability and were also used in many other non-automotive applications like forklifts, airport tow machines and were even used for endurance applications like running pumps for irrigation control on farmer's fields. People may laugh and call me crazy for saying this, but the real way to have one of those cars is to keep it with its original 6V system. When even averagely maintained, they reliably start with only a couple rotations of the crank. My grandfather was a Mopar dealer mechanic during that era and he swore by them. He also restored them (as well as other cars) in his later years into the 90s (some cars sold at the Auburn auctions in Auburn, Indiana), and he swore by keeping them just the way they were engineered. They're great cars just the way they are and when normally maintained, they're dead nuts reliable too. Even his restoration friend (who was fairly well-off) had several of them in his collection, from Pebble Beach-quality examples to crusty original examples (presumably awaiting restoration), and they always started right up like a modern car. If I had the room for a large collection, I'd definitely have at least a couple of those 1941-'54 Mopars with flathead sixes in them.
Well WTD since you wondered off the reservation I don’t often have a chance to show off my one and only Mopar left. Had a ‘62 Imperial LeBaron, but I do have a 70,000 mile original’49 Windsor. It’s got the straight 6 with Fluid Drive. I had an old time Chrysler guy tell me. “You’ll never beat anyone off the line, but you can pull up tree stumps all day long.” Well won’t try it but I absolutely love driving that car.
Man, that's one sweet ride. Love it. Great colour too. I'm a sucker for blue. Some people say pre-'55 Mopars are dull and stodgy, but I don't know, I just love 'em. But I guess you can chalk that up to being a Mopar guy. I bet your Windsor drives like a dream down the road though. They really were nicely engineered cars. Thanks for sharing!
Love your 49 Windsor 60Mercman and thank you for that photo. I also really like those late 40s early 50s Mopars. My first car was a 10 year old 54 Plymouth Cranbrook gifted to me by my maternal Grandmother, Maude. When I received the car it was a very faded two tone green, dark over light. My friend Dennis repainted it for me in my Uncles of garage - the color Pepboys dark green. It was a good car. Had it for maybe 3-4 years and sold it to a neighbor who used it as a "work car" until it just rusted away.
Your welcome. I thought since the conversation had turned to 40’s and 50’s Mopars I thought. Ah, that’s my in. Lol. I do love the Fluid drive and can see why cabbies loved them. Can pretty much drive with timing and just do everything through the gas pedal. My dad had a ‘54 Cranbrook, in light blue. Traded it off on a ‘56 Monterey wagon in white over turquoise.
The blue 77 Matador wagon just showed up on Facebook Marketplace, at Rudy's towing in northeast philadelphia. $2000 but they say they are negotiable.
This car has a New Jersey title and the yard says you’d need to get the title transferred before the car leaves the yard
